Blue Jays Discussion: Everyone's hurt, but some are starting to make returns

[Hoverhand]

Fun fact: Randal Grichuk has the 2nd most RBI in the entire MLB, with 26 in 30 games

combining what Grichuk played in 2019 and 2020 (206 games) he had a 1.1 bwar in that time span. This season he's already at a 1.1 bwar. His defence has improved immensely and historically his worst 2 months in a season are April and May! Yet he's raking!

He's a completely different player. I never thought we'd be having the conversation about Grichuk possibly slashing .300/.350/.515 in a season.

 

[Puckstuff]

combining what Grichuk played in 2019 and 2020 (206 games) he had a 1.1 bwar in that time span. Already this season he's already at a 1.1 bwar. His defence has improved immensely and historically his worst 2 months in a season are April and May! Yet he's raking!

He's a completely different player. I never thought we'd be having the conversation about Grichuk possibly slashing .300/.350/.515 in a season.

He’s making a lot of people including my self eat crow. I didn’t really see the point in giving him a 50 million dollar contract. It seems when everyone else on the team is cold, Randal is the one guy carrying this team. It happened last year during the Baltimore series too. His bat is sort of developing into some version of Matt Chapman. That would be just great if he can continue this.

 

[Beaumaris]

He’s making a lot of people including my self eat crow. I didn’t really see the point in giving him a 50 million dollar contract. It seems when everyone else on the team is cold, Randal is the one guy carrying this team. It happened last year during the Baltimore series too. His bat is sort of developing into some version of Matt Chapman. That would be just great if he can continue this.

There is a few of us who never doubted what the guy had in his locker.

 

[CatchyTune]

combining what Grichuk played in 2019 and 2020 (206 games) he had a 1.1 bwar in that time span. Already this season he's already at a 1.1 bwar. His defence has improved immensely and historically his worst 2 months in a season are April and May! Yet he's raking!

He's a completely different player. I never thought we'd be having the conversation about Grichuk possibly slashing .300/.350/.515 in a season.

Yes i'm definitely loving what i'm seeing from him. The defence is a bonus. I have noticed he has played the field very well too.

This might be a premature conversation... But it starts to make you think one of our outfielders (excluding Springer) could be expendable. We have other needs and dealing say Gurriel Jr from a position of strength to address other needs shouldnt be out of the question. Not a must, just an option.

 

[canucksfan]

Nice article on Manoah

Why there won't be an argument to hold Alek Manoah back for much longer

 

[Discoverer]

I never had a problem with the contract extension, but I was really concerned after he was so bad in 2019.

It's basically an exact replica of the Smoak contract: team signs him to an extension in his late 20's, people complain because it seemed unnecessary, player proceeds to completely collapse and look lost in all facets of the game (primarily because of a really high K-rate), people really start to complain and want him gone at all costs, player suddenly cuts down on swing-and-miss issues out of nowhere and looks like an altogether different player and a key part of the team.

 

[The Nemesis]

Fun fact: Randal Grichuk has the 2nd most RBI in the entire MLB, with 26 in 30 games

Hi Randal, this is Randal. No one cares. Work harder.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

I was concerned with how bad his 2019 season was but I was always confused by the perception of his contract by Jays fans and the idea of it being an anchor. If he is a serviceable outfielder for the life of the contract the commitment doesn't hurt you. Definitely not the kind of contract or player you try and give away like a lot of people wanted.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Yes i'm definitely loving what i'm seeing from him. The defence is a bonus. I have noticed he has played the field very well too.

This might be a premature conversation... But it starts to make you think one of our outfielders (excluding Springer) could be expendable. We have other needs and dealing say Gurriel Jr from a position of strength to address other needs shouldnt be out of the question. Not a must, just an option.

Gurriel needs to start hitting or teams are going to think he is just a one year wonder.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Was never high on Grichuk, so much so I wish they punted him in the off-season, and I never understood the contract he was given (and really still don't), but he's been excellent this season.

Whether he is playing that much better because he has a chip on his shoulder to prove his worth after the Springer signing, he is certainly showing his worth thus far this season and has been great insulation while Springer's been out all this time.

 

[CatchyTune]

Hi Randal, this is Randal. No one cares. Work harder.

I love that commercial. Lowkey motivational

 

[BlueForever75]

So Grichuk at $10 million a season is not worth it?

He provides flexibility in the OF with above average D, has always been good for 20+ HR and 60+ RBIs. He's still relatively young at 29. Players like Edwin and Bautista never broke out until this time in their careers.

People just need to let this guy play. Since last season he has been one of our better players. I agree with acquisition of Springer I too felt he was expendable. But for me it was only because I felt he had value in a trade to fill other holes in our rotation. But definitely not because of his play or worth.

 

[Discoverer]

Was never high on Grichuk, so much so I wish they punted him in the off-season, and I never understood the contract he was given (and really still don't), but he's been excellent this season.

Whether he is playing that much better because he has a chip on his shoulder to prove his worth after the Springer signing, he is certainly showing his worth thus far this season and has been great insulation while Springer's been out all this time.

I still say it made a lot more sense than some people think. They were basically paying him to be the guy he had been throughout his career (lots of ups and downs, but overall an above average major league regular) and hoping his huge second half of 2018 could lead to some added upside.

I don't know... it just wasn't that big of a deal. Sure, they didn't need to sign at the time because he was still under team control, but if he maintained some of his 2018 improvements the cost was going to go way up. And it was never a big enough contract that it was going to significantly impact future decisions, so it was worth the gamble.

 

[Discoverer]

So Grichuk at $10 million a season is not worth it?

He provides flexibility in the OF with above average D, has always been good for 20+ HR and 60+ RBIs. He's still relatively young at 29. Players like Edwin and Bautista never broke out until this time in their careers.

People just need to let this guy play. Since last season he has been one of our better players. I agree with acquisition of Springer I too felt he was expendable. But for me it was only because I felt he had value in a trade to fill other holes in our rotation. But definitely not because of his play or worth.

No one's complaining about it now... we're saying he was terrible in 2019, which he was. He wasn't worth anywhere close to $10 million then.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

I still say it made a lot more sense than some people think. They were basically paying him to be the guy he had been throughout his career (lots of ups and downs, but overall an above average major league regular) and hoping his huge second half of 2018 could lead to some added upside.

I don't know... it just wasn't that big of a deal. Sure, they didn't need to sign at the time because he was still under team control, but if he maintained some of his 2018 improvements the cost was going to go way up. And it was never a big enough contract that it was going to significantly impact future decisions, so it was worth the gamble.

I've said the same thing many times, in that it wasn't the money that was an issue. He could "grow" into the contract and it'd pay itself off as it is now. It's this new regime (well, at the time), as methodical as they are/were, making Grichuk their first big core signing. He just didn't fit the profile for what they were conveying as their vision and build.

 

[theaub]

Yeah I never had an issue with the money - what I was afraid of was that they would use it as an excuse to not upgrade in the OF

Once they were willing to go into this season with him as the 4th OF it was fine. And now he's having a good spite season anyways.

 

[Discoverer]

I've said the same thing many times, in that it wasn't the money that was an issue. He could "grow" into the contract and it'd pay itself off as it is now. It's this new regime (well, at the time), as methodical as they are/were, making Grichuk their first big core signing. He just didn't fit the profile for what they were conveying as their vision and build.

Yeah, and I can kind of see why someone would feel that way, but... I just disagree. I don't (and didn't at the time) see this as a "big core signing" given the cost; they added some cost-certainty during a few tear-down/rebuild years at a price that suggested he was only ever expected to be a secondary piece.

 

[Canada4Gold]

Hagen Danner with the 2 inning save for Vancouver last night. 4 K's in the process. He feels like a non prospect as a player switching positions 3 years after being drafted, but given the fact that some teams valued him more as a pitcher than a catcher when drafted(going off memory here) I still feel like he could have some good upside as a pitcher since he was viewed as a potential 2nd round pitcher back when drafted. It feels more to me like they just got a free 2nd rounder on a college pitcher who didn't pitch his entire college career. I would assume there's no comparables there

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[canucksfan]

Makes the team better IMO.

 

[Discoverer]

Makes the team better IMO.

Yep. They add a good bat in Rowdy and improve on the utility guy by being forced to use Espinal instead of Panik.

 

[showtime8]

Why do people not like Panik? Is it because of his usage or is it the actual guy?

He's a decent to good bench player in the league.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

I'm so jazzed about adding another top prospect in this draft to our pipeline. I wonder if we go position player or pitcher. Given the draft strengths I would have to guess either a college pitcher or a high school hitter.

 

[kb]

#freemanoah

 

[canucksfan]

Why do people not like Panik? Is it because of his usage or is it the actual guy?

He's a decent to good bench player in the league.

His usage for the most part. He can only play 2nd and his bat is below average. Espinal is a better utility option because he can play multiple positions and all very well defensively. Espinal's bat is fairly good as well. Espinal also has better speed.